Connect with us

Published

on

Public support for sanctions on Russia remains overwhelming, but could erode if the cost-of-living crisis worsens, an exclusive poll for Sky News has found.

The poll by Ipsos suggests that 70% of the public support implementing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

poll

However, just 41% of people now say they would still back sanctions if it means a further rise in energy bills.

That’s a significant decrease since March, when three out of four people (73%) were willing to stomach an increase in energy prices.

fragile support

Since then, energy costs have more than doubled, adding over £1,200 to the annual bills of a typical household.

A third of people (32%) now say they would oppose sanctions if they were to lead to a further increase in energy prices, up from just 8% of respondents in March.

The poll comes ahead of a special programme on Sky News in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum Institute looking at the war in Ukraine on Tuesday evening at 7.30pm.

Special event at the Imperial War Museum examining the conflict in Ukraine

Analysis: Support for Ukraine sanctions strong – but for how long?


Rob Powell Political reporter

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

The link between Russian sanctions and rising prices here is not as obvious as it may seem.

A House of Commons briefing from earlier this month found in 2021 Russian imports made up 4% of the gas used in the UK, 9% of oil and 27% of coal.

Across the EU, the equivalent figures were 39% for gas, 23% for oil and 46% for coal.

But the disruption to supply caused by the war in Ukraine, combined with an increase in demand as countries look for alternative energy sources, has still pushed up prices substantially on international markets.

This has caused the spikes in what we’re all paying to heat and power our homes.

It has also led to the government trying to convince countries like Saudi Arabia to step up energy production in a bid to calm the markets.

All that said, this polling shows that a strong response to Russia over Ukraine is still a vote winner with the public.

In fact, you can make a convincing argument that the initial muscular approach adopted by Boris Johnson was the main reason he was able to cling onto power in Downing Street for quite so long.

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,069 adults aged 16-75 in Great Britain between 19 and 20 October for Sky News.

The poll suggests that public support for Britain’s role in assisting Ukraine remains high, with 59% of people in favour of sending arms and money to the country and 58% saying that the UK should accept more Ukrainian refugees.

However, increases in energy bills since March have left public support for sanctions more fragile than before.

According to the poll, 41% of the public are “very concerned” about the war’s impact on the UK economy, with the same proportion saying that it is contributing “a great deal” to rising prices.

The only factor which respondents were more likely to identify as contributing significantly to inflation was the Conservative government’s economic policies (48% of people). Respondents also identified excessive corporate profits, global economic headwinds and UK interest rates as key causes of the cost-of-living crisis.

attribution

One in four (25%) said they were “very concerned” about being unable to pay their bills over the next six months, with a further 45% “fairly concerned”.

Were sanctions to lead to an increase in energy bills, they would no longer enjoy support across all parts of society, as they have done so far.

Half of people in relatively secure financial positions (48%) would continue to back sanctions, with only 27% opposed.

Among those struggling most with the cost of living, however, the number of people against sanctions would be larger than the number of people in favour.

struggling

For now, however, Britain’s sympathies lie overwhelmingly with Ukraine. Just 63% of respondents said they were very concerned about the impact of the war on themselves personally, compared to 82% who said they were worried for Ukrainian civilians.

Three in four people (74%) are also concerned about the possible implications of the war for Britain’s national security.

impact of war

Although additional price increases would dent support for sanctions, most people (52%) would still back the measures if they led to prices remaining at their current, high level for longer.

Even among those who said they were finding it “difficult” to get by at the moment, 45% said they would be willing to endure continued high prices for the sake of supporting Ukraine, with 30% disagreeing.

tolerate prices

Keiran Pedley, Research Director at Ipsos, told Sky News: “These findings show sustained support for Ukraine from the British public over time, as a clear majority continue to support Britain’s role supporting Ukraine amidst widespread sympathy for Ukraine’s people.

“Although there is concern about the impact of the war on Britain’s economy, most continue to support sanctions, and think they are necessary even with higher energy and food prices.

“However, there is some evidence that support for sanctions in the face of rising energy and food prices may not be limitless if they continue to rise even further over time.”


Methodology

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,069 adults aged 16-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place online between 19 and 20 October 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.

Full tables can be found on the Ipsos website.


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

Why data journalism matters to Sky News

Continue Reading

UK

Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

Published

on

By

Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Flowers outside school
Image:
Pic: PA

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Tearful MP reacts to coach crash

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

Read more on Sky News:
Amber warning for thunderstorms for southeast England
No further action over Kneecap at Glastonbury, police say

“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”

Continue Reading

UK

Woman handed criminal conviction despite ‘unlawful’ strip search by police in Greater Manchester

Published

on

By

Woman handed criminal conviction despite 'unlawful' strip search by police in Greater Manchester

Maria’s treatment by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was so shocking the chief constable described it as “undefendable” and yet a year after a high-profile inquiry found she had been “unlawfully” arrested and strip-searched, Maria now has a criminal conviction for the crime the inquiry said she should never have been arrested for.

Warning: This story includes graphic descriptions of strip searches and references to domestic violence.

The Baird Inquiry – named after its lead Dame Vera Baird – into GMP, published a year ago, found that the force made numerous unlawful arrests and unlawful strip searches on vulnerable women. A year on, the review has led to major changes in police processes.

Strip searches for welfare purposes, where the person is deemed at risk of harming themselves, are banned, and the mayor’s office told Sky News only one woman was intimately strip-searched to look for a concealed item by GMP last year.

Women had previously told Sky News the practice was being used by police “as a power trip” or “for the police to get their kicks”.

However, several women who gave evidence to the Baird Inquiry have told Sky News they feel let down and are still fighting for accountability and to get their complaints through the bureaucracy of a painfully slow system.

The case of Maria (not her real name) perhaps best illustrates how despite an inquiry pointing out her “terrible treatment”, she continues to face the consequences of what the police did.

'Maria' said she was treated like a piece of meat by GMP
Image:
‘Maria’ said she was treated like a piece of meat by GMP

‘Treated like a piece of meat’

The story begins with an act of poor service. A victim of domestic violence, Maria went to the police to get keys off her arrested partner but was made to wait outside for five-and-a-half hours.

The Baird Inquiry said: “This domestic abuse victim, alone in a strange city, made 14 calls for police to help her.

“She was repeatedly told that someone would contact her, but nobody did. The pattern didn’t change, hour after hour, until eventually she rang, sobbing and angry.”

The police then arrested her for malicious communications, saying she’d sworn at staff on the phone.

Inside the police station, officers strip-searched her because they thought she was concealing a vape. Maria told Sky News she was “treated like a piece of meat”.

The Baird Inquiry says of the demeaning humiliation: “Maria describes being told to take all her clothes off and, when completely naked, to open the lips of her vagina so the police could see inside and to bend over and open her anal area similarly.”

GMP's Chief Constable Stephen Watson
Image:
Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the actions towards Maria were ‘inexplicable’

After the inquiry found all this not only “terrible” but “unlawful”, Chief Constable Stephen Watson described the actions of his officers towards Maria as “an inexplicable and undefendable exercise of police power”.

He added: “We’ve done the wrong thing, in the wrong way and we’ve created harm where harm already existed.”

Despite all of this, the charges of malicious communication were not dropped. They hung over Maria since her arrest in May 2023. Then in March this year, magistrates convicted her of the offence, and she was fined.

Dame Vera’s report describes the arrest for malicious communications as “pointless”, “unlawful”, “not in the public interest” and questions whether the officer had taken “a dislike to Maria”. Yet, while Maria gained a criminal record, no officer has been disciplined over her treatment.

A GMP spokesperson said: “The court has tested the evidence for the matter that Maria was arrested for, and we note the outcome by the magistrate. We have a separate investigation into complaints made about the defendant’s arrest and her treatment whilst in police custody.”

The complaint was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in August 2023 and Maria was told several months ago the report was completed, but she has not heard anything since.

Dame Vera Baird of the Baird Inquiry into GMP
Image:
Dame Vera Baird’s report catalogues the ‘unlawful’ arrest and strip search of various individuals by GMP

‘There’s been no accountability’

Dame Vera’s report also catalogues the “unlawful” arrest and strip search of Dannika Stewart in October 2023 at the same police station. Dannika is still grinding through the police complaints service to get a formal acknowledgement of their failings.

She told Sky News: “Everyone involved in it is still in the same position. There’s been no accountability from the police. We’re still fighting the complaint system, we’re still trying to prove something which has already been proved by an independent inquiry.”

Body cam footage of Dannika Stewart being arrested in October 2023
Image:
Body cam footage of Dannika Stewart being arrested

Asked if anyone had been disciplined, Chief Constable Watson told Sky News: “There are ongoing investigations into individual failings, but for the most part the Baird review talked about systemic failings of leadership, it talked of failings in policy and failings of systems.

“In some cases, those people who may have misconducted themselves at the level of professional standards have retired. There are no criminal proceedings in respect of any individual.”

He added: “Every single element of the Baird inquiry has been taken on board – every single one of those recommendations has been implemented – we believe ourselves to be at the forefront of practice.”

Greater Manchester Police bulding and logo

‘It’s been three years’

Mark Dove who was also found by the inquiry to have been unlawfully arrested three times and twice unlawfully stripped-searched says he’s been in the complaints system for three years now.

He told Sky News: “There have been improvements in that I’m being informed more, but ultimately there’s no timeline. It’s been three years, and I have to keep pushing them. And I’ve not heard of anyone being suspended.”

Mark Dove was found by the Baird Inquiry to have been unlawfully arrested three times
Image:
Mark Dove was found to have been unlawfully arrested three times and unlawfully strip-searched twice

Sophie (not her real name), a domestic violence victim who was also found by the review team to have been unlawfully arrested by GMP, told Sky News that although most of her complaints were eventually upheld they had originally been dismissed and no officer has faced any consequences.

She said: “They put on record that I’d accepted a caution when I hadn’t – and then tried to prosecute me. Why has no one been disciplined? These are people’s lives. I could have lost my job. Where is the accountability?”

Since the Baird Inquiry, every strip search by GMP is now reviewed by a compliance team. GMP also provides all female suspects in custody with dignity packs including sanitary products, and they work with the College of Policing to ensure all officers are trained to recognise and respond to the effects of domestic and sexual trauma on survivors.

Kate Green, deputy mayor for Greater Manchester for policing and crime
Image:
Kate Green, deputy mayor for Greater Manchester for policing and crime

The deputy mayor for Greater Manchester for policing and crime, Kate Green, says the lessons of the Baird Inquiry should reach all police forces.

She said: “I would strongly recommend that other forces, if they don’t already follow GMP’s practise in not conducting so-called welfare strip searches, similarly cease to carry out those searches. It’s very difficult to see how a traumatising search can be good for anybody’s welfare, either the officers or the detainees. We’ve managed to do that now for well over a year.”

Ms Green also suggests a national review of the police complaints system.

Read more:
Inquiry prompted by Sky news’ investigation
What Baird Inquiry revealed

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods, of GMP, said: “Our reformed Professional Standards Directorate (PSD) has increased the quality of complaints handling and improved timeliness.

“Where officers have been found to breach our standards then we have not hesitated to remove them from GMP, with more than 100 officers being dismissed on the chief constable’s watch.

“Out of 14 complaints relating to Dame Vera’s report, four have been completed. Our PSD continues to review and investigate the other complaints.

“We’re committed to being held to account for our use of arrests and our performance in custody.

“By its nature, custody has – and always will be – a challenging environment.

“However, basic provisions and processes must always be met and, while we’re confident our progress is being recognised across policing, we stand ready to act on feedback.”

Continue Reading

UK

One child dies after coach crashes in Somerset on way back from school trip

Published

on

By

One child dies after coach crashes in Somerset on way back from school trip

One child has died after a coach bringing children back from a school trip crashed and overturned near Minehead, Somerset, police have said.

A major incident was declared after the vehicle, which had 60-70 people on board, crashed on the A396 Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, shortly before 3pm on Thursday afternoon.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School at the time.

At a news conference on Thursday night, officials confirmed one child died at the scene.

A further 21 patients were taken to hospital, including two children who were transported via air ambulance. “Several” other people were treated at the scene, they added.

A police officer near the scene of a coach crash in Somerset. Pic: PA
Image:
A police officer near the scene of the coach crash in Somerset. Pic: PA

“This has been an incredibly challenging scene for all emergency services,” Chief Superintendent Mark Edgington said.

“Today’s events are truly tragic, we know the whole community and wider area will be utterly devastated to learn of this news.”

An investigation into what caused the crash will be carried out, he added.

Gavin Ellis, the chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

He praised an off-duty firefighter who was travelling behind the vehicle for helping at the scene, before crews then arrived to carry out rescues “in extremely difficult circumstances”.

“I’m grateful for the tireless effort and actions of the crews in doing everything they could for those who were trapped and as quickly as safely as possible,” he said.

“I’m extremely proud of the efforts that my firefighters took today at this tragic event.”

Eight fire engines were sent to the scene, with two specialist rescue appliances and around 60 fire personnel, Mr Ellis said.

A total of 20 double-crewed ambulances, three air ambulances and two hazardous area response teams were also sent to the scene, a representative for the South Western Ambulance Service said.

Emergency services near the scene in Minehead
Image:
Pic: PA

Ch Supt Mark Edgington said: “Many passengers either sustained minor injuries or were physically unharmed and were transferred to a rest centre.

“Work to help them return to Minehead has been taking place throughout the evening.

“An investigation into the cause of this incident will be carried out.”

Minehead Middle School has pupils aged between nine and 14, and is five days away from the end of term.

‘I don’t have words,’ says local MP

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘From one mother to another, I feel your pain’

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has said the road where the coach crashed is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

Speaking to Sky News chief presenter Anna Botting, Ms Gilmour said she visited Minehead Middle School recently, where she “met the children and they were full of joy, enthusiasm and were very positive”.

“I know many of their parents,” she said. “I don’t have words.”

Describing the scene, Gilmour continued: “You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side.

“If the coach, as the police are saying, went 20ft off the road, you are literally on a really, really steep bank.”

The MP, whose constituency is partly in Devon and partly in Somerset, said there is a “really, really close community”.

“We will pull together, but it would be crass of me to say to a parent who’s just lost their child that I could make things better, I can’t,” she said.

“All I can say is that from one mother to another, I feel your pain.”

Cutcombe Hill near Minehead, where the accident took place. Pic: Google Maps
Image:
Cutcombe Hill near Minehead, where the accident took place. Pic: Google Maps

Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X: “There are no adequate words to acknowledge the death of a child. All my thoughts are with their parents, family and friends, and all those affected.

“Thank you to the emergency workers who are responding at pace – I’m being kept up to date on this situation.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson wrote: “It is heartbreaking to hear that a child has died and others are seriously injured following the incident in Minehead earlier today.

“My thoughts are with their friends and families, and all those affected by this tragic event.”

Continue Reading

Trending